Method of knitting



Sept. 15, 1936. J. 1.. GETAZ METHOD OF KNITTING Original Filed Dec.

2 2 a x lifl I M m H H 0 I- 6 2 1w Nu a 2 Ii, 2 HHHHHHHI nnn m umwl l s l ln W/ 5 F a a i 7 J I M F I I no n F INVENTOR JAMES L. GETAZ BY HIS ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 15, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE METHOD OF KNITTING James L. Getaz, Maryville, Tenn.

Claims. (Cl. 66-1) This invention relates to a method of knitting seamless hosiery made of plain fabric, and more particularly to a method of producing a weltless, seamless stocking. One object of the 5 invention is to knit such a weltless stocking from top to toe in an economical manner, starting up from the bare needles.

In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a development of part of the knitting wave and knitting cams of a Scott & Williams revolving needle cylinder machine practising my invention, showing how the two yarns are fed to the needles in carrying out the preferred form of my invention; while Fig. 2 is a plan view corresponding to Fig. 1, showing the needle circle and the manner in which the first or interlaced yarn is fed to the needles and then taken out of action, the small arrow in the upper left corner of the figure indicating the knocking-over point, and the curved arrow the direction of rotation of the needles.

This invention is a division of my application Serial No. 53,824, filed December 10, 1935. In the present application the method of making the selvage is claimed broadly and by itself. Any other patentable subject-matter in the present application is claimed in the parent application.

The stocking will be shown and described as a mans half nose, but it should be understood that it is equally applicable to any other kind of hoisery. The stocking resulting from my method of knitting is a weltless one, that is to say, the top of the stocking or sock is of a single thickness. It is knit from top to toe and can be begun on the bare needles. The actual interloopings of the yarns at the selvage are somewhat similar to those in the Robert W. Scott Patent No. 1,148,056, dated July 27, 1915, but the method of its manufacture is much simpler and is more satisfactory as far as concerns tensions of the yarns. It will be obvious that either or both of the yarns involved in making the selvage can be elastic yarns, but the invention is equally applicable if neither yarn is elastic.

In the preferred form of the method the antiravel yarn 20, that is to say, the yarn which is to be threaded through all the first row of loops in the finished fabric, is introduced into the machine at a point sufliciently in advance of the knitting wave, in the preferred form of my process, to permit the yarn to be interlaced in front and in back of alternate needles and below the latches of those needles where it lies on the front side of the shank. On the same revolution of the needle cylinder at which this interlacing or anti-ravel yarn is interlaced between the needles, as described, I also introduce the yarn I3 which is to make the first row of loops. This yarn is preferably introduced into the hooks of all the needles after the anti-ravel yarn 20 has been interlaced. The two yarns therefore come to the knocking-over point with the antiravel yarn 20 behind one needle and below the latch of the next, while the second or looping yarn 53 lies in the hooks of all the needles. After passing the knocking-over point-which is indicated by a straight arrow at the left of Fig. 2-the anti-ravel yarn is free of all the needles. It will be observed that the successive loops of the second yarn B3 are drawn on opposite sides of the anti-ravel yarn, thus enclosing the latter. Thus at the end of the first course the machine already has a complete setup with the anti-ravel yarn free of all the needles.

Any circular knitting machine having cylinder needles with selectivity as between successive needles can be adapted to make this sock or stocking. Thus the well-known Scott 8: Williams type of revolving needle cylinder machine, such as shown for instance in the patent to Robert W. Scott 1,152,850, dated September 7,

1915, can be adapted to do this work by the addition of mechanism for feeding and tensioning the anti-ravel yarn and adjusting the knitting cams properly.

The preferred method of feeding the anti-ravel yarn is by means of a finger 30 pivoted on a post v29 on the bedplate B to move in' a horizontal plane just above the sinker cap into and out of operative relation with the cylinder needles 2 I, 22. In this case the delivery end of the anti-ravel yarn finger 30 applies the anti-rave] yarn 20 at a point on the needle circle which is just after the crest of the cam 366 raising the jacks 38! which lie under alternate needles. It will be the needles 2| with jacks which have the anti-ravel yarn laid against their shanks. The elevation of the antiravel yarn feeding finger is such that the needles 2| with jacks are raised until their latches are above the anti-ravel yarn, so that as those needles are drawn down the yarn will be laid in but not knit in. If desired, this raising of the jack needles' 2i can take place prior to passage by the stitch cam, that is to say, between the customary widening pick (not shown) and the stitch cam. Shortly after the anti-ravel yarn is laid against the raised needles 2|,the jackless needles 22 rise" on the camming edge of the leadingstitch cam is used in the sense of a single passage of all of a single series of needles with respect to the knitting cams, or vice versa, as distinguished from a course of knitted stitches of the fabric.

In starting up the sock from the bare needles with the anti-ravel yarn laid in front of and behind the needles alternately in advance of the throat plate 560 as above described, the feeding of the anti-ravel yarn commences slightly before the feeding of the body yarn in the throat plate in order that the first needle to which the antiravel yarn is fed may reach the throat plate before the body yarn begins to feed. In order to get this advanced action of one of the yarn feeds, special movements can be obtained from either the main pattern drum or an auxiliary drum.

By feeding the anti-ravel yarn 20 to the needles as described and simultaneously feeding the looping yarn [3 to the hooks of the needles in a normal manner-all in one and the same course-the anti-ravel startup construction described is obtained. Thus a quick and simple manner of obtaining an anti-ravel edge at the upper end of a weltless stocking is obtained. It should also be noted that the anti-ravel yarn 20 is never in the hooks of any of the needles. This avoids any awkward tensioning of the yarns and any slack at points where it is not desired, such for instance as appears in Fig. 2 of the Scott Patent No. 1,148,056 above mentioned.

At the end of the first course the anti-ravel yarn 20 can be stopped by swinging the yarn finger 30 into its inoperative position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, thus leading the yarn into the cutter and clamp 35 where it remains until the next stocking is ready to be begun. It will be observed that in this way a simple, undistorted selvage is produced in one revolution of the machine by the mere addition of one yarn finger and the described manipulation of the needles.

Another manner of carrying out the invention is to feed the anti-ravel yarn 20 from a finger in the throat plate separated from the finger feeding the regular looping yarn I3. Thus the finger F at the right side of the throat can be used for I the anti-rave] yarn 20, while the finger F at the left side of the throat can be used for the body yarn, instead of the middle finger F In this modification of the method the needles behind which the anti-ravel yarn is to lie are drawn down early so that they miss yarn 20 but take yarn l3.

' In this case the anti-revel yarn is laid in the hook of every other needle instead of being below the latches, and the anti-ravel yarn 20 will not be thrown clear of those needles until the second revolution. However during .the second revolution, before the needles reach the knocking-over point, the yarn will lie on the shank of said needle, as was the case on the first revolution in the preferred embodiment. The yarn finger F can be thrown out of action at the end of the first revolution, as in the preferred embodiment.

What I claim is:

1. In a method of knitting a seamless stocking top, the steps of starting up on the bare needles by interlacing a yarn in front of and behind successive needles in the same series, feeding a second yarn to the hooks of all the needles in the same course, thereafter knocking over the interlaced yarn to make an anti-ravel, and knitting subsequent courses in direct succession.

2. In a method of knitting a seamless stocking top, the steps of knitting a selvage by starting up on the bare needles by interlacing an elastic antiravel yarn in front of and behind successive needles of the same series, feeding another yarn to the hooks of all the needles on the same course, then knocking over the interlaced yarn and knitting a subsequent course without the anti-ravel.

3. In a method of knitting a seamless stocking top, the steps of knitting a selvageby starting up on the bare needles by interlacing an anti-revel yarn in front of and behind successive needles of the same series, feeding another yarn to the hooks of all the needles on the same course and throwing the anti-ravel yarn clear of all the needles at the knocking-over point on the first course.

4. In a method of knitting a seamless stocking top on a circular machine using only one series of needles, the steps of starting the selvage on the bare needles by introducing an anti-ravel yarn in front of and behind successive needles below the latches, feeding another yarn into the hooks of all the needles in the same course and then knocking over the interlaced yarn, thus keeping the anti-ravel yarn out of the hooks of the needles, and continuing knitting plain fabric.

5. In a method of knitting an anti-ravel selvage on one series of needles of a circular knitting machine, the steps of feeding one yarn by interlacing it in front and in back of alternate needles of the series below the latches, feeding another yarn on the same revolution of the machine to the hooks of all the needles of the series from a point between the feeding point of the first yarn and the knocking-over point, drawing the loops of the second yarn, and throwing the first yarn clear of the needles, and beginning knitting on, all the needles without the first yarn to make the rest of the stocking.

6. In a method of knitting a seamless stocking,

the steps of feeding an anti-rave] yarn in advance of the normal feeding point, interlacing said yarn alternately in front of and behind the needles, thereafter in the same course feeding a second yarn to all the needles from the normal feeding point, and then knocking over the interlaced yarn so as to make an anti-rave] selvage at the end of the first passage of the needles through the knitting wave.

7.- In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit stocking on a circular knitting machine, the steps of feeding an anti-ravel yarn in advance of the throat plate, interlacing said yarn alternately in front of and behind the needles below the latches, thereafter in the same course feeding a second yarn to all the needles from the throat plate, and then knocking over the interlaced yarn so as to make an anti-ravel selvage at the end of the first course.

8. In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit fabric, the steps of knitting a selvage by interlacing an elastic anti-ravel yarn in front of and behind successive needles of the same series, feeding another yarn to the hooks of all the needles on the same course, then drawing loops of the second yarn and throwing the elastic yarn clear of the needles to make an anti-revel, and knitting the subsequent courses in direct succession.

9. In a method of knitting an anti-revel salvage on one series of needles of a circular knitting machine, the steps of feeding one yarn by interlacing it in front and in back of alternate needles of the series below the latches, feeding another yarn on the same revolution of the machine to the hooks of all the needles of the series from a point between the feeding point of the first yarn and the knocking-over point, drawing loops of the second yarn, thus throwing the first yarn clear of the needles, and beginning knitting on all the needles on a subsequent course in direct succession.

10. In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit stocking, the steps of feeding an elastic antiravel yarn in advance of the normal feeding point, interlacing said yarn alternately in front of and behind the needles, feeding a second yarn to all the needles at the normal feeding point, and drawing loops of the second yarn and throwing the elastic yarn clear of the needles so as to make an anti-ravel selvage at the end of the first passage of the needles through the knitting wave.

11. In a method of knitting a salvage for a tubular fabric, the steps of interlacing an antiravel yarn in front of and behind succcessive needles of a single series of needles, keeping this yarn out of the hooks of the needles at all times, in the same course feeding a second yarn to all the needles of the series, and then drawing loops so as to make an anti-ravel salvage at the end of the first passage of the needles through the knitting wave.

12. In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit stocking top, the steps of knitting a selvage by interlacing an elastic anti-ravel yarn in front of and behind successive needles so that it will not be in the hooks of the needles at the knitting point, feeding another yam to all the needles on the same course and thereafter drawing loops of the second yarn to make an anti-revel, and knitting subsequent courses in direct succession.

13. In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit fabric, the steps of knitting a selvage by feeding an elastic anti-rave yarn from a point in advance of the normal feeding point by interlacing it in front and in back of alternate needles of a series, subsequently feeding another yarn from the normal feeding point to the hooks of all the needles of the series, then drawing loops of the second yarn and throwing the elastic yarn clear of the needles to make an anti-ravel, and knitting subsequent courses in direct succession.

14. In a method of knitting a seamless plain knit stocking, the steps of starting up on the bare needles by moving alternate needles from a common position and feeding an elastic anti-ravel yarn from a point in advance of the normal feeding point so as to interlace the yarn in front and in back of alternate needles, subsequently destroying the needle alternation, then feeding a second yarn from the normal feeding point and drawing loops of the second yarn and throwing the elastic yarn clear of the needles to make the selvage.

15. In .a method of knitting a tubular plain knit selvage, the steps of feeding an elastic antiravel yarn in advance of the normal feeding point, interlacing said yarn alternately in front of and behind the needles, feeding a second yarn to all the needles from the normal feeding point, and then clearing the anti-revel yarn so as to make an anti-revel selvage at the end of the first row of knitted stitches.

JAMES L. GETAZ. 

